Cruz tells Republicans ‘stand up now’ to defend liberty

Sen. Ted Cruz championed the principles of the Constitution and exhorted Republicans never to back down on their beliefs during a fiery keynote speech that concluded the three-day Conservative Political Action Conference in a Maryland suburb of Washington Saturday night.

The freshman senator from Texas took advantage of his time in the national spotlight to condemn the Affordable Care Act, which he has continuously railed against. Cruz recently proposed an amendment to the Senate’s continuing resolution to halt funding for the Affordable Care Act until the economy improved.

“I’ll confess a couples of weeks ago when I mentioned that I was going to offer this amendment few of my colleagues were not thrilled, yet we saw every Republican in the Senate voted unanimously to defund Obamacare,” he said, adding Democrats stood in support of a policy that would have severe economic costs.

Sen. Ted Cruz at CPAC (Alison Sullivan/Houston Chronicle)

The Tea Party darling listed several amendments of the Constitution in need of protection, from the free speech of the first amendment to gun-toting rights of the second and the fourth amendment’s due process laws in jeopardy by the questionable use of drones by the government.

“There’s a whole lot of politicians, sadly Democrats and Republicans, in Washington who haven’t looked at the Constitution lately,” he said.

Cruz hailed Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who hijacked the nomination of CIA Director John Brennan with a nearly 13-hour filibuster on drone policy several weeks ago, shaking his finger at other GOP members who didn’t participate. The freshman senator said he owes Paul a lifelong debt for giving him the opportunity to give his maiden speech on the Senate floor during the filibuster.

“To my grave I will owe Rand Paul a debt of gratitude that the first time I spoke up in the Senate I had the opportunity to read (William) Travis’ letter from the Alamo,” Cruz said.

And Cruz, whose bold comments have been consistently controversial since he became senator, repeatedly said he is not afraid to go against anyone, be it Republican or Democrat, noting during his speech a comment from Sen. John McCain, a fellow Republican, that Cruz and Paul were ‘wacko birds’ following the attention they received for the filibuster.

“If standing for liberty and standing for the Constitution makes your a wacko bird then count me as a proud wacko bird,” he said.

Throughout his speech, Cruz repeatedly told the conservative crowd to not back down from their beliefs, saying conservatives are secretly “winning” despite the seeming gridlock in Washington.

“We’re here because we’re not willing to give up on America. We’re facing a fundamental choice. A choice that cuts across all issues. A choice between surrendering or standing up now to defend our liberty. On guns do we surrender or do we stand up now?” Cruz bellowed as the ballroom jumped to its feet. “On drones do we surrender or do we give up now? On spending do we surrender or do we stand up now?”